Archives for November 2013

How many owners of big companies communicate directly with their customers?
Mark at Saunatec, the leading sauna dealer in North America, sure does.
Any model/brand suggestion for the wood stove. We want a large burning chamber (ideally where we can fits 18 inches wood logs) with a large window if this is available.
[<Mark >] All the major Finnish produced heaters are designed for up to 15” logs. The external feed versions have roughly another 12” of depth so an 18” log would fit, but it would not be as efficient and you could not fill it as full. If you’ve ever been to Finland and experienced outdoor sauna there, you’ve probably noticed all their sauna logs seem to be in that 12” range. That’s the length I cut at my cabin. I use 12” logs for after my kindling burns and that is a perfect fit for me. 15” will fit in all the models but our little ‘boat sauna’ size wood heater the K007. I would recommend either the Model KS20 or KS20V (with water tank). You could get … [Read more...]

Today, is a sauna that is typical of many saunas.
3:25 pm - light wood burning sauna. Get a good flame going.
3:30 pm - set damper to about 70% open. Go for a 50 year old lame attempt at a 3 mile run.
4:00 pm - return from lame ass run, toss another log on sauna. 130 degrees f. and climbing.
4:05 pm - change into Troxers, grab a liter of drinking water, set a music playlist, enter sauna. Bring damper down to about 15% open. 140 degress f. and climbing. Wet hair down.
4:18 ish - finish round 1, 155 f and climbing.
4:32 ish - re-enter hot room after a nICE cool down in the misty garden all wet with rain. 160-165 f and steady.
Take a couple more rounds, losing all track of time and retentiveness. Re enter real life around 6 pm. Clean, cleansed, recharged, reset, restored, and a few more great attributes this author can't remember right now because it is now 3:10 pm and I can't wait to get going!
Sauna: few rules, and minimal need for a clock or sand timer on … [Read more...]

Our guest post series continues. Stacy at the Almost Heaven Group previously shared insight on How Much Does a Sauna Cost?. Here are her thoughts on sauna placement.
Enter Stacy:
For many people, one of their first considerations when thinking about a sauna is “where would I put it?” Saunas can be indoor or outdoor, and there are benefits and drawbacks to each option.
An indoor sauna might be easier to access than an outdoor one, especially when there’s inclement weather. We’ve seen plenty of people add a small changing room and shower area beside their sauna – much easier when the sauna is indoors - and there’s less concern about privacy.
With an indoor sauna you don’t have to worry about a roof, or having a weatherproof exterior like cedar or some other form of siding. The exterior of an indoor sauna can by plywood instead of cedar. You can even customize the outside of your indoor sauna to match the décor of the room around it (most often drywall).
Many people enjoy … [Read more...]

There's something hugely liberating about taking an outdoor shower.
Perhaps a nod to nature, or non-conformity - an outdoor shower is, in my view, like waving a flag of freedom.
A shower (or lake plunge) is critical to a sauna round.
A thorough clean rinse after a session in the hot room is critical to help clean out the pores, washing away sweat, toxins and dirt. All regular sauna enthusiasts do the clean rinse. Most of us aspire to sauna by a beautiful lake, where the clean rinse is implicit with a simple dive off the dock. But a backyard sauna clean rinse can be easily had by installing a simple $15 garden hose attachment. My backyard sauna shower, dangling over a tree branch, is detailed here.
A few suggestions about using backyard showers:
1. Cold water only. A cold rinse is much more exciting and purposeful than a warm shower. I am not sure why, but both women, men, and kids all scream like girls on a roller coaster when they first encounter a cold outdoor shower … [Read more...]

Time to build your own sauna?

I wrote my "build your own sauna" book for you.
I'm not a professional builder.
But I've built a bunch of authentic saunas.
And I know how to build saunas.
And I love helping others realize their own AUTHENTIC sauna dreams.
For a $20.00 USD donation, I will send you my ebook.
I took careful note of many of the details, shortcuts, and special tricks about building a sauna. … READ MORE